Slayers: SHIFT
by YelloMage
Summary: Two years after the events of Slayers: Evolution-R, Gourry and Lina are wandering the world, in search of treasure. After meeting two mysterious travelers, they find their lives forever changed. Gourry X Lina, Zelgadis X Amelia, Filia X Xellos, OC X OC [DISCONTINUED]
1. Reunion

**This is my second fanfiction – technically. I'm also working on a Super Smash Bros. Fic called "Super Smash Bros. Rumble". If you play the SSB games, you should read it. Right now, I have 7 chapters up. Anyways, this Slayers fic will be a bit more on the dramatic side than the actual series. There will be new spells and other stuff, too. I'm trying, so please, constructive criticism only. Now, I'll quit annoying you and start the fic.**

Chapter 1 – Reunion

"Geez, Lina," Gourry whined, "wasn't that a little bit too much?"

"Nah," the sorceress replied nonchalantly, "they got what they deserved."

"B-but they just-"

"Gourry. They. Captured. Us. They got what they deserved."

The pair turned from the smoldering ashes which used to be a regal castle fortress, and headed off for the nearest sign of civilization.

As they walked into town, a muffled grumbling sound could be heard.

"Hey, Gourry! I'm gonna go get some food – wanna come?"

"No thanks. I'm going to go to sell off this stuff we found at that place back there.

"Yeah, they had some nice stuff there."

"Okay, see ya later, Lina. Let's meet up at the port, later on."

"A'right. See ya!"

Lina stepped into the nearest tavern.

_ Restaurante de Oro_..._huh?_

"Hey!" she hollered after seating herself at a booth near the window, "I'd like to place an order!"

A tanned waiter with a strong foreign accent came to take it.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, with a smile, "what would you like to drink, young lady?"

"Oh, I can make my food order too, now, if that's okay with you."

"Ah, a customer who can make up her mind the second she enters the door? Wonderful! Let's have it."

"Okay...I'll have some water to drink...and one order of everything ya got!"

The waiter seemed to be quite surprised, at first. However, Lina soon convinced the waiter that she was perfectly serious.

"Hm. Wonderful – I'll tell the chef, right away!"

The waiter quickly shuffled off in the direction of the kitchen. Lina stared outside of the window.

"Hm. I wonder how Amelia and Zel are doing. I'm sure they're busy; they always are."

She sighed and brushed her red-orange hair out of her eyes. It had been two whole years since she had seen either the princess or the chimaera. They had last seen each other during the ghost Shabranigdo incident – they had helped prince Pokota save his kingdom, and since then, the prince had been wandering in search of a way to help more, and the group hadn't seen each other since the day they decided to part ways.

The next customer walked in. Normally, Lina would not have noticed something so trivial. However, there was a strange aura about him. Something menacing, but not necessarily evil. She flinched a little when he sat down at a table only a few feet away from her. He wore a black hooded robe, which concealed any of his facial features. His hands were in black gloves. The only thing that Lina could tell about him was that he was definitely not a girl.

She sighed. _I have a bad feeling about this._

The waiter brought Lina's water out, setting it down on the table. He then turned to the hooded man.

"Good afternoon, sir. What will you be having this fine evening?"  
>"I assume you have fish?"<p>

The hooded figure didn't sound much younger than Lina. He was probably eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Of course. Bejewld is a port town, after all. We have salmon, tuna-"

"I'll have snapper, if you have it."

"Of course. And to drink?"

"Just water."

"All right then, I'll go get it for you."

The waiter turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen again, leaving Lina alone with the new customer.

It had been ten minutes since the waiter had delivered the hooded figure's water and refilled Lina's.

"Hey," she yelled towards the kitchen, "it's been forever since I made my order, hurry it up! I'm starving."

She heard a chuckle and turned to see that the hooded figure was the source.

"Just chill," he said, "they're bringing it out right now."

"How can you-"

She was interrupted by a clanging sound, signifying that someone was moving plates. In a few moments, her table was covered in lobsters and fish, along with assorted meats and the occasional salad.

"Mm...lobster..."

Lina ripped apart the crustacean bit by bit, only stopping to eat the meat, which for her, didn't take too long. Just as the waiter said, Bejewld was a port town, and a good one too. It had thousands of fisherman working in Sapphire Bay, looking for rare new fish to eat. The town wasn't well known, but it was sure as hell big. The only problem was the occasional sea monster.

As if by cue, the door was broken down, the glass windowpane shattering into a billion pieces. The bell on the top of the door rang out a cacophonous note. In the door was a very large blue lobster-like creature, except its head was a lot like a human's with an elongated skull. Its fiery red eyes seemed to enhance the already horrifying atmosphere.

Employees started running out of the kitchen, flailing forks and knives and pots and pans. The lobster thing began to crush nearby tables, slowly making its way towards the less occupied section of the restaurant. Showing no worry about then creature just a few yards away and advancing, Lina kept eating her food. The blue behemoth walked on all of its legs to the stranger's table.

Its biggest mistake.

It flipped over the table, spilling snapper and ice water everywhere.

"Excuse me, I was _eating_." he said, obviously angry at the creature.

Not possessing advanced vocal chords, the creature emitted a deep booming sound.

"You know, I don't appreciate being disturbed-"

He lifted his hand up in the direction of the monster.

"-while I'm eating! _Fireball_!"

A burst of red flame launched from his hand, exploding onto the lobster.

The lobster danced around in the flames, its shell sizzling and making cracking sounds. And all the while, Lina sat there, occasionally picking up more fish to inhale.

"Aw! It's cold now!"

She held the cold bluegill up to the boiling lobster, quickly heating it up and making it edible again. However, the flames quickly died out, leaving only a charred thing on the floor. The fire hadn't spread much, but a few chairs had black legs, and one was a pile of ashes now. Employees began to crowd around the lobster. Eventually, one of them poked it with the leg of a chair. Its only response was leaning over to the side.

The employees quietly dragged the giant crustacean to the kitchen, menacingly brandishing knives.

"Damn," the hooded stranger muttered, "I overdid it a little. I guess that means I'll have to leave...soon."

He put a bag of coins on the table and turned to Lina.

"Hey, could you tell the people here that this is for the damages?"

"How much is that?"

"Oh, just like...three thousand gold pieces, I guess?"

"What?"

_What? Three thousand? That's more than I make in a week! And he...he just...put it there, with no regards. This guy much be rich or something! And he's certainly got some magic skills...maybe I could work some profit off of-_

"Uh, excuse me, are you still alive over there?"

"Er, yeah. I was just wondering, are you like, royalty or something?"

"Royalty? God, no. What makes you think that?"

"Well, you kind of have a _lot_ of money. Lots."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What would a normal person pay for a few more chairs and a table or two?"

"Eh...two hundred silver. You don't seem to be too familiar with the economy."

"Oh," he said, switching the first bag with a much smaller one, "call it a sheltered life."

_Aw, hell, he's leaving! I have to think of something, quick! My wallet's just jumping for that gold!_

"Hey!" she exclaimed, jumping from her seat, "Are you going anywhere in particular?"

"No, not really. Me and my...partner? We're just wandering around, looking for something. Why?"

"Well, me and my 'partner' are doing the exact same thing! You wouldn't mind if we tagged along, would you?"

"Sure, but the journey is kind of dangerous. We can't protect too many people."

"We can handle ourselves! But...we'll need a little bit of money to start us out..."

"Meh – if you're really coming with us, then what's ours is yours, I guess."

_Yes! Awesome! If I'm right, Gourry won't mind coming too. Hell, we might meet up with the others again!_

"Great! Now, I'll go get him, and you can get your friend! Meet up with us at the Garnet Cave. That's the inn a few blocks from here. See ya soon!"

Lina bolted out of the Restaurante de Oro, leaving the stranger behind.

"Hm." the hooded stranger thought aloud, "I guess the people in this time period are a little different from the ones in modern day. Oh, well. Might as well go find her."

Lina saw Gourry pretty quickly, since he was just sitting there by himself, in front of the nearest antique shop.

"Gourry, why do you look so confused?"

"Oh! Lina! Well, the people in the shop looked sort of familiar. And they knew me. It was weird..."

"Oh, Gourry, you're just imagining things, I'm sure. So, how much did you get?"

"Well, I got about nine hundred and fifty gold pieces, but most of the stuff is still getting 'appraised' by the lady in there. She said to come back tomorrow."

"All right, then we'll just have to come back then, won't we?"

Peeking at the shop's name, she couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

_The Golden Dragon? That does sound a little familiar...and an antique shop? Oh well._

Noticing the sun setting, Lina pulled Gourry along with her, walking back the direction she came from.

"Lina, what's this about?"

"We're going to stay at the inn here. I smell money, and my sixth sense never lies."

"You mean your Lina Sense is tingling?"

"Shut up and walk, you idiot!"

The pair began to notice that there weren't any boats out right now. That was sort of weird, considering that this was a busy port town. Lina couldn't help but think back to just an hour or two ago. That monster that attacked the restaurant wasn't much, so she wondered why sea monsters were such a problem in Bejewld. It was probably because of their sheer number, or because the town relied completely on its naval force for protection. After all, warships can't do much to monsters on land.

By the time the sun was just barely peeking out over the horizon, Gourry and Lina had finally reached a remote corner of town. Why nobody ever visited the inn, Lina couldn't be sure. Outside were a pair just as strange as Lina and Gourry.

The male of the group had a good build, tall, with broad shoulders, and had hair that wasn't short, but not quite long, either. It hung down in chestnut semi-triangular bangs, and hardly reached his eyebrows. Underneath those were azure-blue eyes, twinkling with something. Curiosity, maybe? Excitement, perhaps? He was wearing strange clothing, sort of like a hooded white cloak, with drawstrings down from his neck to about half a foot down. The sleeves were a little too big, with just the tips of his fingers poking through. He wore grayish pants under that, which appeared to be made of something other than wool or cotton. Maybe a mixture of the both?

The female looked rather strange as well. It wasn't that she had purple hair, of all colors, which was tied back into two pony tails from the top of her head. It wasn't her glassy eyes, which had gray-blue irises so faint that you could hardly differentiate them from the whites of her eyes. It wasn't even her clothing, a blue jacket of sorts which seemed to be made of some new synthetic material, or her pants, made of white denim. It was probably the enormous suitcase attached to her back, which was about half a foot wide and six and a half tall. That and she was extremely well-endowed, automatically gaining jealousy from Lina. The two seemed about the same age.

"Hey!" the male called, attracting Lina's attention.

"I guess you're the one who was in the restaurant, earlier? By the way, you did a great job with the monster." she responded when she was close enough.

"Thanks. I don't think we've been introduced, yet. I'm Cecil – it's pronounced seh-sill, but spelled C-e-c-i-l – and this is Henrietta. Henrietta, say hi."

"H-h-hi..." the girl stammered.

"Aw..." Lina cooed, "what an adorable stutter! I'm Lina Inverse, this is Gourry Gabriev. We're kind of well-known in this part of the world."

"Sorry," Cecil said indifferently with a shrug, "can't say I've heard of you. Then again, I guess we aren't really from this side of town, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, whatever!" Lina exclaimed, "let's just go get our room."

"M-me and Cecil already had a room reserved...I-I-I h-hope that that's all right..."

"That's great! Let's go, then!"

Lina ran towards the door, opening and shutting it as she bolted inside.

"You know," Gourry mumbled, "things will go a lot easier if you two just do what she says on this journey, okay?"

"I guess she explained this all to you?" Cecil asked, ignoring Henrietta's giggle fit.

"Yeah. Let's go, all right?"

With a nod, the rest of the group quickly followed after Lina. The inn didn't seem like anything special. On the outside, it was old and a little decrepit, and on the inside, it was small. There was a small desk for the clerk to sit behind, and a staircase to their right, which they promptly went up. There was a hallway at the top, leading to three or four doors. One of them closed just as the trio arrived, so they guessed that she went in there. Suddenly, they heard a small yelp from the sorceress. Gourry ruched into the room, Cecil and Henrietta behind him. They saw Lina on the floor, beside a bed.

"What's wrong, Lina?" Gourry asked, obviously as confused as the other two.

"There's...only one bed! One bed, king size. This is just too much!"

"What's wrong with that? We can all just—"

"No, Gourry! It's not okay. By the look on those twos' faces, it's not okay with them either."

"Well," Cecil interjected, "me and Henrietta can sleep on the floor, and you two can-"

"Not happening, Cessy!"

"So you two aren't...?"

"Hell, no! Why would you think that?"

"Well, you're about twenty, twenty-one, together on a trip to nowhere, and above all else, you are a man and a woman."

"Actually," Gourry corrected, "Lina's more like a girl then a woman."

Lina started to growl.

"You know," she said, "I have a good amount of spells in my arsenal. For example..._darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond-_"

Catching Lina's wrist, Cecil exclaimed, "Okay, we get it! You and Henrietta sleep on the bed, I'll sleep by the window, Gourry sleeps by the door. Does that work?"

The blond warrior complained, "But what if someone opens up the door and steps on me?"

"Then you yell and wake us up, me and Lina throw Fireballs, and Henrietta just-"

"C-can we go to sleep now, Cecil? It's g-getting l-late."

"Oh, sure. There are three blankets, so I guess the girls will share one."

As everyone slipped into bed, Lina couldn't help but ask some things that had been bothering her for quite a while.

"Hey, Cecil? Henrietta?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-yes?"

"How come Cecil was wearing that funny robe in the restaurant? Did you wear it too, Henrietta? Why? And what's in that suitcase of yours?"

"First," Cecil responded, "we're trying not to attract attention, so I wore darker clothes. The monster didn't help though."

"I-I didn't have to wear the hoodie...I stayed in a shop downtown for a long time. The people there were really nice. Especially the one that showed me – no, led me around. His hand felt kind of weird, though. And, the suitcase...? I can't really tell you, yet. You'll see..." she sort of giggled a little after that.

_Okay...? That was slightly weird. I wonder where these guys came from to have to try to avoid attention. If they are, they sure are traveling with the wrong bunch._

Lina smiled to herself as she felt exhaustion take over. After running around for hours, it was a little hard not to. Surrendering to the power of the abyssal night.

END~

**I originally started this fic just because I was bored, just like with Super Smash Bros Rumble. However, I think I'll be pretty active on this fic. I really liked how this story just flowed out of my fingers, so I think I'll post chapter 2 while I'm inspired. So, see ya soon!**


	2. Safeguard

**I kind of rushed the last chapter, so I think I made some spelling and grammatical errors, but only a little. I promise you. This chapter will be a lot better. Promise. A blast from the past, a new spell and a wonderfully new concept. Hopefully, you'll probably like it a lot better, but remember that I'm high on sleep, again. As always. Well, I'll start now. **

Chapter 2 – Safeguard

With a sigh and a stretch, Lina mumbled, "Good morning, everyone."

"Mornin,' Lina." Cecil replied.

It appeared that everyone else had woken up before her. Gourry was sitting on the floor, Henrietta in a chair and Cecil was leaning on the door.

"You know," Cecil pointed out, "the floors here are a lot harder than the carpeted ones back home."

"Carpeted floors? What's a carpet?"

"Never mind. You wouldn't know. Now, shall we get going? Or do you have something to do today?"

"I have something to do. Me and Gourry have to pick up some gold back at The Golden Dragon. It's just a few blocks away, so if we hitch a ride, or something, we'll get there quick. Do you want to come along?"

"Oh, sure. I dropped off Henrietta there yesterday. She liked the people there, so I'm sure that she wouldn't mind, either. Would you, Hen?"

"N-no...I don't mind at all. I'd love to see...meet them again. One more time, before we leave..."

"It's settled then!" Lina exclaimed, putting on her boots, "We leave after breakfast; I'm starved!"

"Me too!" the so far silent knight said a little too excitedly.

Suddenly, two different sources made loud grumbling sounds. Henrietta and Cecil.

The former laughed nervously, "H-ha...I guess I'm h-hungry too..."

"Me too." the latter agreed, "I suppose it is time for a good meal. Do you have a Waffle House anywhere here?"

"A Waffle House? No, but they should have some good pancakes at the restaurant back there. I think it was 'de Oro,' right Cecil?"

"Yeah. The snapper there was good. Until the lobster attacked."

"Lobster?" Gourry asked, "Isn't that like a crab? How did it-"

"I'll explain later." Lina interrupted.

Cecil and Henrietta left the two behind, leaving an awkward silence as well.

"Well," Lina said, "let's go, Gourry. If you take long, I swear. I'll eat_ you_ too."

"A-all right, Lina, settle down."

"Okay. But we're gonna get there before those two; whether they like it or not, this is a race."

She opened up the window and motioned for Gourry to come over.

"Gourry, grab on."

"Where?"

"Anywhere! No, wait, bad idea. Grab my hand."

He did so.

"_Levitation!_"

Lina jumped out of the window, but instead of falling, she hovered in midair. Gourry dangled from her hand, noticing their two friends below them.

"Hey!" Cecil exclaimed, "What's that all about?"

"Last team to get to de Oro pays the bill!"

"Yeah right! Like we'll let that happen!"

Lina flew off in the direction of the restaurant. Levitation flew at only a running speed, but it was easy to control, and let her fly over buildings with ease. Cecil couldn't catch up to her; after all, the faster flight spells were extremely complex and hard to control.

Lina heard a shout from behind her.

"Ray Wing!"

In a little orb of compressed air, Cecil and Henrietta flew many times faster than Lina was.

_He can't use Ray Wing...with that speed, he'll crash! He might hurt someone...mainly my wallet!_

Lina stopped moving and copied Cecil, "Ray Wing!"

Gourry was lifted up to Lina's level to be included in the wind sphere. Lina flew much faster now, but it was hard to turn and impossible to stop. Unfortunately, the orb ahead of her dissipated, leaving her two friends levitating towards the door of the restaurant. When she hit the spot that they were at, she quit focusing on her Ray Wing, causing both her and Gourry to fall to the ground. While the sorceress landed gracefully on her feet, the knight landed rather clumsily on his rear.

"Lina, I'll have you paying the doctor when we get my butt put in a cast."

"Who was talking about your butt? I certainly didn't bring it up."

"What are you talking about?"

With a cough, Cecil got their attention.

"Not to spoil your moment, but you guys have a meal to eat and a bill to pay."

Henrietta smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lina. Next time, it'll be guys and girls, and y-you're wallet will be much happier."

"I'm sure." Lina pouted.

The group walked into the Restaurante de Oro and sat down at the corner booth that Lina sat at before. The waiter from last time came over, recognizing one of the customers.

"Oh, you're the girl that came in here yesterday! Bought quite a lot of food last time, so I suspect that you'll have a big meal today, too?"

"Nah. I haven't been working too much, so I guess I'll just have...fifteen pancakes."

"I need more," Cecil ordered, "I'll want...forty-five. Make it fifty, just to make sure."

"I'll have thr-three..."

"I don't know what pancakes are, so I guess I'll have a few sausages. Make that a lot of sausages. And bacon. And some eggs, too"

"All right," the waiter said with a smile, "I'll bring it soon."

As he left, the group started to converse.

"Cecil," Lina said, puzzled, "why do you need so much food? You haven't been using too much magic."

"Actually, I was practicing all night. I've been trying to see if this new concept fits into the magic of this time – I mean...place."

"What do you mean? This sounds interesting."

"Well, where I come from, people are said to be enveloped in a psychic energy, known as an 'aura.' Magic is just one of the ways people can use this aura. Kinetics, sorcerers, summoners and all other sorts of people use auras for various purposes. Supposedly, each aura is different, like a fingerprint. If each aura is unique, then maybe every person can use a unique spell, a unique ability. That's what I've been practicing."

"Cool. Maybe you can teach me about these auras some time."

"I'm no expert, but I'd be glad to teach you what I know. Maybe we could find you your personal spell."

"Have you found yours?"

"Of course. It's actually a variation of – oh, look. The food's here!"

Just as he said, the food was there. The restaurant must have been prepared for Lina, because it had only taken five minutes for mountains of pancakes to be delivered. Lina savored every bite, Henrietta slowly ate after poking her food, Cecil inhaled his pancakes and Gourry's meat and eggs disappeared faster than Lina could tell him to save her some bacon.

"Gourry, you pig!"

"I'm not a pig – I'm a perfectly normal human being."

"Shut up, ya friggin' jerk! You're supposed to save some bacon for the lady!"

"Since when was there ever a rule about that?"

"Since right now!"

The two were suddenly distracted by Cecil and Henrietta laughing at them.

"Oh, you two fight like an old married couple, albeit a weird one." Cecil chuckled.

"H-have you two thought about that, yet? You two would b-b-be gr-great together..."

"Sh-shut up!" Lina exclaimed indignantly, "Besides, we have to get to The Golden Dragon. It's going to be noon in three or so hours, so we better hurry up."

"Fine," Cecil said, "ruin our fun. It's just as well."

The group got up, left the money for the meal and stepped outside. After a few minutes of walking the cobblestone roads, Lina noticed something she hadn't before.

"Henrietta, why are you grabbing Cecil's arm like that?"

"It's so she doesn't get lost." Cecil replied, "Didn't you notice before? Hen is—"

Gourry interrupted, "Guys, The Golden Dragon is just up ahead! I told you we wouldn't get lost on the shortcut."

"Yeah," Lina said sarcastically, "the shortcut you happened to make up, which happened to get us there a lot faster. Good for you, Gourry."

The group was silent as they entered the place.

"We'll go on ahead," Cecil suggested, "you guys sit tight for a sec."

Cecil and Henrietta meandered through the unique pots and urns scattered throughout the store. Most were on tables and stands, but occasionally one would be on the floor. They all sparkled like jewels. Eventually, the pair ran into a very unusual employee. His clothes were rugged and seemed more suited to desert travel than a city. He had an eye patch covering his left eye, but above all else, he was covered in red fur. He had the head of a fox, and grinned at the sight of the pair.

"Henrietta!" he exclaimed in a thick Australian accent, "It's good to see ya again, and so soon. I guess your friend here is Cecil, right?"

"That's r-right, Mr. Jyllas. This is Cecil. It's nice to see...meet you again. We have friends in the back, and they need to pick up some money from something they sold. Is it okay if we...er, C-Cecil looks around?"

"Oh, sure. The boss lady wouldn't mind, as long as he doesn't break anything."

"I won't," Cecil assured him, "I'll be sure not to."

Leaving Henrietta in the beast-man's capable hands, Cecil began to walk off towards the counter. There didn't seem to be anyone there, so he rang the little bell on it. To his surprise, the ringing summoned a blond woman that had simply been ducking behind the table. She had on strange clothing, similar to a nun's, except it was white with some gold trim.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Oh, no. I came to pick up some money for some things that some friends of mine left here to be appraised. They're waiting just back there."

"Okay, could you go and get them for me? I'm afraid that I can't give the gold to anyone but the people who sold it to me. You understand, right?"

"Of course, I'll just get them over here."

Cecil didn't actually need to, because, after all, Gourry and Lina – okay, just Lina – were getting tired of waiting.

"That's it," the sorceress whined, "I can't take it anymore! I'm going in!"

"But, Lina...it's only been a minute or two. And the store is kind of big."

"Well, in that case, I'd better make sure that those two didn't get lost, shouldn't I? And you're coming with me!"

She dragged – literally, dragged – Gourry into the shop and wandered through the display tables, occasionally noticing a familiar urn or two.

"I swear, I've seen some of these before..."

Soon, she ran into Henrietta and a familiar face.

"Jyllas? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh," Henrietta said, "you know each other?"

"A little too well."

"Oh," Jyllas said nonchalantly, "you. The boss is in the back, if you want to talk to her about something."

"Wait, Filia? Filia's here? In Bejewld? No wonder the shop's called 'The Golden Dragon.' I guess she finally got what she wanted."

"Who's Filia?" Gourry and Henrietta asked in unison.

"I could understand Henrietta being confused," Lina growled, "but Gourry, we spent...what, a year with her? Remember going to the Outer Lands?"

"Nope. Not in the slightest. Why?"

The rest of the party exchanged face-palms, and Cecil came back to tell Gourry and Lina that they were needed.

"She said," he began, "that only the people who sold the stuff can come to retrieve the money."

With a sigh, Lina replied, "Well, Gourry, I guess we'll just have to go meet her again. If you don't remember her then, I'm sure that a Laser Breath or two will refresh your memory."

The pair walked off, leaving the other three behind.

"So how do you know Miss L-Lina and G-Gourry, Mr. Jyllas?"

"Bad memories, to say the least. Let's just say that there was a lot of collateral damage. So, back to what we were talking about, how powerful is this gunpowder that you were talking about?"

"O-oh, um...it can fire off a single bullet at speeds of at least a hundred miles per hour, but it slows gradually. It can deal a g-g-good amount of damage, but it needs good aim. The bullets are small, but with good enough aim, you can blow a person's h-head into smithereens."

"Interestin'. Now, how much does this cost where you're from?"

"Oh, for me, it j-just costs a few dollars for a keg."

"How much is a dollar in gold-"

The conversation was interrupted by Lina, Gourry and the clerk lady coming back from the counter.

"Boss," Jyllas asked, "where are you going?"

"Oh," the lady replied, "I'm going to be traveling with these people for a while. It's been years since we last saw each other, and I feel that we should at least learn a bit about what we've all been doing this past time. I'm sure you can handle the store, can't you? Besides, Grovos is getting off of vacation next week, so you won't be alone for long."

"A-a'ight. I can handle the shop." Jyllas turned to Cecil and Henrietta, "Ya wouldn't mind getting some of that stuff the next time ya come 'round, would ya? I'd like to tinker with it for a bit."

"S-sure. I-I'll be sure to bring a k-keg or two."

Saying goodbye, the five left Jyllas in the shop.

"So," Lina said, breaking a minute long silence as the group made their way to the town gate, "what were you and mouse-breath talking about back there, Henrietta?"

"Oh, just g-g-gunpowder. He wants to create the most powerful gunpowder in the world. I j-just happen to know a g-good starting point."

"Oh, really? And Filia, how have things been going since we met last?"

"Oh, just wonderful! We're the most popular antique shop within two-hundred miles of Bejewld. How have Zelgadis and Amelia been doing? I heard that after that incident with the ghost Shabranigdo that they went off to Amelia's kingdom."

"Oh, yeah. I just hope Zel has gotten a bit closer to his own goal. And that Amelia isn't bugging him too much. After all, a princess probably isn't a very good companion for a person like him. Have you seen Xellos lately? I still need to pay him back with a good thrashing."

"What?" Filia stepped back, as if horrified at the name "Xellos." "I hate that freak!It would be bad enough if he were just an arrogant, selfish jerk, but he's a monster, too. No! I haven't seen the idiot!"

"Okay...geez. You don't have to get all upset about it. He just seems lie the kind of person who would bother yo, of all people."

"Oh, me?" a mysterious voice boomed out.

It was just then that Lina realized that there was an incredible lack of people near the town gate.

"Oh, hi Xellos." she greeted carelessly.

A figure with purple hair carrying a staff with a a red jewel at the top walked into their view.

"It's not nice to talk about people behind their back, you know."

"Yeah, but it's also not nice to bargain with monsters, especially when you're using a woman's soul as your tool."

"Oh, come now. That was only four times, nothing much. Isn't it wonderful that we cross paths here?"

"Yeah, just terrific. Who sent you? Why are you here?"

"Who sent me? That's a-"

"That's a secret. I get it. But why are you here?"

"Oh, no reason. Just to tell you that you might want to turn the other direction. There's something to be done, and money to be had from it. You like money, don't you?"

"Of course I-" she yelled as she whirled around. This, however, was not something she liked. Why nobody had noticed it earlier, she wouldn't know. In the Sapphire Bay, a creature was sitting there. Well, more like floating there. A giant kraken-like thing was in the bay, with two ships in its tentacles, lifted high, with screaming people falling out.

"Dammit! How come we didn't notice that before? Guys, hurry up! We have to help them!"

Leaving the monster man behind, the group raced towards the bay, hoping to stop the creature before it was too late.

Chuckling to himself, Xellos sighed, "Well, I suppose this will be a great time to gauge _their _abilities. I better watch. Who knows, I might even enjoy myself."

When the group arrived at the bay, there were very few ships left in the now red-tinged water. What remained of merchants and soldiers were sailing at full speed back to port, afraid for their lives. There were corpses onshore, but not for very long. The lobsters from yesterday were there, ripping apart the bodies of both dead and near-dead people. Screams emitted from the ones that weren't quite dead yet.

"Oh my God..." Cecil stammered.

"Th-they're...all..." Henrietta managed to cry.

"Snap out of it!" Lina scolded them, "It's horrible, but that's why we're here! Let's get rid of these things! Let's kill them all! We'll start with the big one!"

She readied a Fireball in here hand, but Filia stopped her.

"Lina," she warned, "there are still people in those boats there. If you blast the kraken, you'll kill them, too. I'll distract it and see if I can get it to drop the ships."

"No, I'll just get in there a slash it with a Ragna Blade!"

"What happens if you misfire? We can't handle that chance. We need to-"

"Would both of you shut up?" Cecil shouted.

Everyone's attention was on him now.

"Look," he said, "we have to stop that _thing,_ and bickering amongst ourselves will accomplish nothing. I think I have a plan which might work, but I'll need everyone's help for it to work. Lina, I'll need you and Gourry to beat back as many crabs as you can, but after I get the kraken ready, you'll need to cast a powerful long-range spell."

"How will I know when-"

"You'll know. Filia and Henrietta, cover me. I'll be back on that building over there, and I need the two of you to help protect me from any monsters. Filia, if I'm right about what you can do, then don't overdo it. Henrietta, just hit them with the case – there's no need to do anything fancy yet."

"Right." the two said in unison.

"All right then. We start now! _Ray Wing_!"

He flew up to the top of a building with Filia and Henrietta, leaving the other two behind.

_I hope,_ he thought to himself, _that this works. I've only tried it after dark, so it might not be too effective. _

When he hit the top of the building, he saw Gourry and Lina doing their jobs quite well on the ground. Gourry with a steel sword, Lina with Fireballs.

"All right. Time to start."

He pulled out a piece of chalk from his pocket and began to draw a circle around himself on the ground. In the meantime, Filia was simply knocking back lobsters who had climbed onto the building with a spiked mace, and Henrietta was hitting them with her suitcase. It just seemed a little weird that two girls with oversized weapons were fighting giant seafood. Ignoring that, Cecil finished the circle, about five feet in diameter, and drew a square in that. In the square, he drew a diamond, and in that, a five-pointed star.

_There. It's done. Now to finish it._

"_Surrender to the abyssal night, succumb to the murky darkness. Yield to the blackest dusk, but never wake to see the dawn. Lose yourself to the deathly dream! _Nightmare Wave!"

He held out his hands, as if he were firing a Fireball, but instead of that, something much more dramatic happened. From his feet, the ground turned dark purple. It spread further and further, eventually spreading to the shore. As it passed the monsters, they fell to the ground, unable to move. It even seemed to affect the people there. To evade the inevitable, Lina flew upwards to dodge the incoming wave. As it passed, Gourry succumbed to it as well. He dropped, asleep. Ignoring her friend, Lina began to get ready for her own spell.

The kraken fell asleep, dropping the boat into the water. It quickly sailed away. As it did so, Lina finished her spell.

"..._I pledge myself to conquer...all the foes that stand...before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand._ _Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed, by the power you and I possess! _Dragon Slave!"

She thrust out her hands and a crimson beam erupted from and blasted towards the sleeping kraken. It exploded on impact, completely vaporizing the monster. When the beam dissipated, Lina flew off towards Cecil.

"Was that one of those spells you mentioned a bit ago?"

"Oh, yes. Yes it was. Impressed?"

"It's just a massive sleeping spell."

"What if I told you that I can kill anyone under the spell with a single command?"

"Cool! Let's try it on Gourry! No, I'm just kidding! Can you get people out of the effect?"

"Yea, but they'll still be asleep for some time. Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that you could kill off all the monsters."

"Oh, sure." he snapped his fingers. "All right. _Night, swallow these forsaken souls. Grant them respite and eternal rest."_

Suddenly, all of the lobsters poofed into a mass of black lights, which then faded out of existence.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Lina said with a shudder.

"Eh? Anyways, I'll go find Henrietta and Filia. You bring Gourry to the inn."

END~

**Okay, I admit it – I suck at making up Chaos Words. And the ending was sudden. I was just too lazy and I just kept procrastinating. I apologize. I had to work on chapter 8 for Rumble, one of my other stories, so I just put this aside for a while. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review.**


	3. Voyage

**I'm so glad I got a review! It's always nice to hear from readers of my story and to know that it currently has a fanbase of...one. Yay! Since my SSBB fic's action flatlined recently, I'm planning on a battle scene here – I'll die if I don't! :) Anyways, yea...please add reviews if you like my story, because I always feel inspired the more I hear back. A lot of you are probably dying to learn the secrets this story bears (muahahahaha...) so I'll start now. Oh, wait! One last thing. For any Final Fantasy fans, I'm planning on writing a comedy Dissidia cross-over fic. However, I'll have to get to a certain point in my SSBB fic first. Why? You see soon...**

Chapter 3 – Voyage

_Another day in Bejewld..._Lina thought to herself, _I hope we'll actually be able to leave today._

"You awake, Lina?" Gourry asked as he poked the sorceress in the back.

She whipped around and gave him a death-glare. He responded in a short yelp of fear.

"Yes, Gourry, I'm awake. I was more worried _you_ wouldn't wake up."

"Huh? Why?"

"Do you _not_ remember last night? Never mind, I forgot who I was talking to. You forget everything, don't you?"

"Do I? I don't remember ever forgetting anything..."

"Hey!" Cecil exclaimed, "I brought food, so quit talking and start eating."

The sweet aroma of bacon and eggs invaded the small room. Sitting at a small table near the window, Filia, Cecil and Henrietta were already eating. Cooked with the scrambled eggs were chopped green bell peppers and cubed potato. As Lina sat down at the table, she noticed that the eggs looked way better than any normal eggs – they were perfectly solid, but they had the lustrous gold color of still-cooking eggs.

"Mm." Lina said, almost drooling out of hunger, "The food they sell here is looking better every day..."

"Actually," Henrietta interjected, "C-Cecil cooked them."

"Really? Not _de Oro_? Not you?"

"N-no! I couldn't crack an egg without either destroying it or spilling it somewhere else!"

"Well, color me surprised."

Lina dug her fork into the eggs – they were almost too beautiful to eat..._almost_ – and the vegetables and stuck it all in her mouth. The flavor was amazing! The eggs were full of savory sweetness, the potatoes were almost creamy and the peppers gave it all a satisfying crunch. The bacon was even better – it tasted like someone had taken bacon, wrapped it around an apple slice and sugar coated it all!

"Oh my God! This is amazing!"

"Well," Cecil said, "I bought ingredients straight from the farmer's market and used the inn's public kitchen next door."

"Mm...I guess we'll have to do that more often!"

The small group continued to eat piles and piles of the eggs. Cecil must have cooked for a long time, because it was a whole hour until all of the eggs were gone. Lina walked over to her bed and pulled on her boots.

"C'mon guys," she exclaimed, throwing on her cape, "it's time we leave this town!"

"All right," Cecil said, "you guys go ahead. I'll hang back for a bit."

"Okay, suit yourself. We'll try to find a stagecoach or something, but if we can't then we'll just have to walk to the next town."

"'Kay."

Everyone promptly left, but Henrietta stopped and turned back when she heard clicking sounds. She walked back up the stairs and seemed a little surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"Just typing up our journey so far. This laptop hasn't been working quite as well since I had to start using this hand-powered charger. Still, it's better than being completely gone from modern civilization."

"I-I suppose. Try not to l-l-let anyone st-steal it, though."

"All right. You just go on ahead."

The girl did so, almost tripping over herself in her rush for the stairs. As she stumbled out of the inn, she caught hold of Lina's arm.

"What's that about?" Lina asked.

"Oh, good...I th-thought that I got someone e-else."

"Why do you worry about this stuff? Of course you grabbed my arm – are you blind?"

"Actually...y-yes."

The three others outside stopped, breathless. Was she kidding? Lina didn't actually guess right, did she?"

"Wait, you're really blind? You can't see?"

"No, I can't."

"But...then how come your eyes are open?"

"Many people where I come from are blind and can still open their eyes. Couldn't you tell I was blind? M-my pupils are k-kind of h-hard to see and I n-need people to h-hold onto me wh-when I'm walking."

"Yea, but...that was just kind of strange. How come you could fight off so many monsters?"

"Th-that's-"

"A secret. Damn, how did I know you were going to say that?"

The group hadn't realized it, but they had traveled pretty far from the inn. Behind them, Cecil was huffing through crowds.

"Hell, no! Where did they go? When I catch them, I swear I'll-"

He was interrupted when someone bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir!" Cecil exclaimed, looking up at the six and a half foot tall man.

"Oh, please. It was my fault. I should be more careful."

As the man walked farher away, Cecil thought he recognized him somewhere.

"Hm...long sandy hair, scarred face...hey! I'm missing a bag of gold pieces!"

_Damn! The wanted posters! I knew I recognized that face!_

Cecil remembered the description.

_An unnamed criminal who is currently charged with multiple counts of grand theft, murder and treason. Targets nobles and other apparent rich folk. Reward: 300,000 gold pieces._

"Gah! That was half my money! I'll get that bastard!"

Cecil dashed towards the direction that the man had gone. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten too far...

The city changed very slowly, but it was noticeable. When he had started running, the buildings had been rather pleasant, with a Victorian era like appearance. The farther he got from that point, the closer he got to the outskirts of town. With outskirts come sad little tin shacks.

Children chased each other around, oblivious to the fact that they lived in a horrifyingly different neighborhood then the people just an eighth of a mile away. Everyone seemed to be quite content here, acting like a normal community with everything. Just like back home, children broke things, women sat on patios talking to their little gossip groups and teenagers were hanging out in the slightly darker places, occasionally doing more than talking.

_It's sad and happy at the same time – they have nothing, but they manage to imitate the lives of the normal. How interes_ting...

For the second time today, Cecil bumped into someone. The boy been running, and now both he and Cecil were on the ground.

"Sorry, didn't see you there, kid..."

"Watch where you're going! I've gotta get there quick!"

Stopping the rather rude child, Cecil asked, "Where?"

"To get money from the nice man, duh! What are you, retarded?"

The boy bolted off further away from the city.

_A man distributing money? In this place? Shady...it could be that thief. And "retarded?" Did children really call people that back here? No, Cecil! That doesn't matter – focus on the money._

He dashed off after the kid, hoping that this man was his thief. The farther he got, the more depressing the scenery got. The only sign of joy in any way, shape or form was the occasional tree. Soon though, Cecil saw a gathering of people.

"There. This 'man' must be there. I'll have to get a good look without alerting him..._Levitation!_"

Cecil soared through the air, trying not to alarm the group. Fortunately, they were distracted by the promise of gold. The man was the thief. Cecil recognized him, all right. Messy sand-colored hair going down to his shoulder blades and a black leather jacket with white fur on the ends of the sleeves and around the back of the collar. He was handing out other people's money, and he seemed quite content. Cecil waited for the crowd to disperse, then slowly got closer to his prey. As he landed, he hid behind a large rock and peeked behind it, trying to find a good plan of attack.

"Y'know," the man said, not even turning to face Cecil, "I know you're there. Come out."

Cecil stepped out from behind the rock. "Hello. How'd you know I was there?"

"Because most of the people I steal from send someone to get the money back. I didn't think you'd come personally, though. I suppose you have some combat experience?"

"Oh, yea. I killed a giant octopus yesterday. How about you?"

"A good thirty-five royal soldiers. Why don't we have a little battle?"

"Sounds good to me, thief."

The thief unsheathed two curved daggers from scabbards attached to his waist. He held one up, the other down. Not a common sword-style.

Cecil threw a Fireball at him, without uttering a word. A chant-less spell was rather weak and uncontrolled, though, so the thief cut it in half mid-blast. He dashed towards Cecil, swinging his blades in opposite directions. Cecil just barely dodged, and the thief wasn't done.

He smashed the hilts of both blades onto Cecil in the middle of his flip, and he crumpled to the ground. He was forced to roll away from several sword slashes, each closer than the next. He pulled his legs up and kicked the swordsman away, also getting up. He punched the thief and fired another wordless Fireball at his enemy. This one connected with the thief's shoulder, although it just blackened his clothing a little.

He jumped back and to the left, circling Cecil. After circling his prey several times, he lunged at Cecil and twirled around, slashing at Cecil and cutting his clothing. White cloth was scattered across the ground. Blood seeped out of a shallow cut. It bled more and more, the faster Cecil dodged each stroke of the blade. Soon, there was a crimson splotch on the side of his snow-white shirt.

"_Freeze Arrow_!"

An icy blue arrow of magic flew from Cecil's "air-bow" and hit the thief directly in the chest. It froze and shattered at the same time, cutting into his skin with diamond dust. His sleeves suffered a little bit of cuts, but he remained perfectly fine.

Recovering, the thief used a nearby rock to spring into the air. He kicked Cecil in the gut, knocking him over and knocking the wind out of him. As Cecil lay motionless on the ground, the thief put his foot on Cecil's chest, leaving him unable to get up. As Cecil closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, he hoped it would be fast. It never came.

The sound of steel clattering against stone rang in his ears, and he opened his eyes.

"Wh-why don't you kill me?"

"I have no intention of killing a good person who didn't even _try_ to fight back."

"Was it really that obvious?"

"Yes, it was. You didn't even plan to take the money back, did you? If you did, you would have taken the gold straight from those people the second they got it. The question is: why did you fight me if you didn't want to take the money back or hurt me?"

"I don't know. That's just the way my brain works. So...can I get up now?"

"Oh, sure."

The thief stepped back and grabbed hold of Cecil's hand, heaving him to his feet.

"So, stranger; what's your name?"

"Cecil. You?"

"Gray. Gray Wolfgang: wanted thief, killer and rebel."

"Heh. Good to know ya. Well, I suppose our little battle ends here, eh?"

"I guess. If you ever find yourself in Bejewld again, come and find me. 'Til then."

Gray walked off into the distance, leaving Cecil behind.

"Well," the sorcerer said to himself, "I guess I should find Hen and the others. They've probably had a coach flagged down for hours. _Ray Wing_!"

He surrounded himself in a bubble of compressed air and wind and blasted off towards Bejewld. It had taken a long time when he was running, but it took only about five minutes by air bubble. He soon flew over the Ruby, the Sapphire Bay, de Oro and finally The Golden Dragon. His orb dissipated just as he reached over his group of friends.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lina exclaimed.

"Y-yea! We were really w-worried, Cecil!" Henrietta said with a strained voice.

"You jerk!" Filia scolded, "It's not nice to keep women waiting!"

"What about me?" Gourry asked Filia.

"Er..." she replied, "I'd rather...not answer that..."

"But does that mean that I-"

"Shut up!" Lina exclaimed, "Let's just get to the coach!"

They walked over to a station that had a coach parked there. Unfortunately, the coach left the second they got within a few yards of it.

"What?" Lina complained, "But we reserved it!"

"C-calm down, Lina!" Henrietta exclaimed, "We're all hungry anyways!"

"Wait," Cecil said, "you guys didn't eat all this time?"

"Nope," Filia replied, "so we could take you out for dinner if this happened. I guess we need to take you to a seamstress, too."

"Oh, yea...I got a little roughed up a bit ago..."

"Really? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I lost some money, though...but that doesn't matter."

"Okay...then we should find somewhere to eat."

"How about de Oro again? It has some good seafood."

The group agreed and they backtracked to the restaurant. This was the third day in Bejewld, and hopefully the last. It had been Cecil and Henrietta's goal to not even stay for a day. Same with Lina and Gourry. Filia, on the other hand, didn't have plans to leave at all until yesterday. Everyone was off their schedule, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse. Maybe something would happen today and they'd end up staying at the Ruby _again_.

Finally, the group found themselves outside of de Oro. It had finally been fixed after two man-lobster attacks, and it was shinier than before. All of the chairs were polished to a shimmering chocolate color. The tables were covered in brand new red silk tablecloths with gold trim.

As the group seated themselves near a window, the exact same waiter as always came to wait on them. He smiled at the prospect of the riches the group would bring today. He wasn't as surprised as the first time when all but two people bought easily a hundred silver pieces apiece. Within a few minutes, there were multiple tables covered in a seafood spread.

"Ah," Lina sighed, "this is much better. I suppose you'll be paying the bill, Cecil?"

"Only if you'll pay the tailor-seamstress person."

"Agreed!" she then whispered under her breath, "Heh...if this keeps going on my way, I'll have eaten everything on the planet and he'll have paid for it all..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Oh! Nothing! Just about...how good this lobster looks!"

She emphasized her "point" by ripping open a lobster and inhaling the meat. It did seem to be getting better every day. The meat was sweeter, juicier...and free! It was all free! She grabbed what seemed to be more meat and took a bite without looking. She was surprised when it jumped out of her hands.

"Ow, Lina!" Gourry yelped, "That hurt! You could have bitten my arm off!"

"Oh...sorry? I wasn't looking."

Everyone else at the table was trying hard not to laugh. Really hard. It was to no avail, though.

"Oh my god!" Cecil exclaimed, "we should have gotten a video camera or something!"

"Video camera?" Lina asked.

"Long story. Doesn't need to be told."

"Okay..."

The rest of the meal was eaten in pretty much absolute silence. The only sounds were the occasional loud gulp or hiccup. By the end of the meal, there was nothing left on the plates but shells and bones. And the occasional really slimy looking creature that no one wanted to eat.

"Well," Henrietta said, "I guess m-me and Cecil will g-go get his clothes f-fixed. You guys fl-flag down a taxi. Lina, y-you said that you'll p-pay that bill?"

"Yea, yea. How much do you need?"

"M-maybe about half the amount that this dinner cost."

"What? That's expensive!"

"W-well, th-the problem is that the m-materials are rarer for this region then where we come from."

Lina sighed, "Okay. Cecil, if your clothes get ripped again, your going to pay for the repairs."

With a mock salute, the sorcerer exclaimed, "Yes, ma'am!"

The two left Lina, Filia and Gourry behind.

"Well," the swordsman said, "I guess we go find the coach again?"

"Yes, Gourry," Lina answered, "yes we do. Now let's _go_."

Lina dragged Gourry along by his arm and Filia followed close behind. They soon found a stagecoach that hadn't been used by anyone, yet. It was waiting on the corner of the street. It was getting dark now, so being in a coach of some sort was going to be quite dangerous. Bandits and the sort especially liked to attack coaches in this area, but it was less dangerous than walking by yourself. After all, non-fighter types couldn't defend themselves. The group could, however. It was just easier to use a coach.

"Okay," Lina said to the coach driver, "we need to get to the next town over. How much will that be?"

"Well, the closest town is the city of Cadia to the north. Each ticket will be three silver pieces."

"Here's twenty, get us five tickets. The rest you can consider a tip."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Very soon, Cecil and and Henrietta had caught up with them. Cecil's clothes were mended so perfectly that you couldn't tell they were ripped at all. Everyone climbed into the coach and leaned against the satin walls. The couch-like seats were very soft, covered in cushions. This seemed to make Cecil a little bit antsy.

"What the hell are you so worried about?" Lina asked.

"Er...I suppose this is fancier then most carriages, right?"

"Well, yea. We're riding first-class, here."

"Uh...what would happen if, say, a group of bandits attacked?"

"We'd kill them. Or at least send them to a burn ward somewhere. Why so many questions?"

"Oh, no reason. So, how long do you think this will take?"

"Probably four and a half hours. It'd be a few days if we walked. Feel free to go to sleep. I know..." she yawned, "I...will..."

She closed her eyes. If was amazing how fast you could fall asleep on a coach that was hopping up and down. It must have been all the running around they had done today. Sleep came easy, and her eyes were clamped shut. All went dark, and even the clopping of the horses' hooves couldn't keep her awake.

**Yea, I know you probably expected more out of a chapter. I cut this chapter off because I'm on a vacation for a day or two, so I just cut it off there. I know you probably expected something to happen, but just remember that I never name a character if I'm not going to use them again. Keep that in mind. Anyways, goodbye for now, farewell, adios and everything else.**


	4. Prelude

**Well, sorry about not publishing for twenty-what days, but I've been busy and someone's a jerk and keeps stealing the laptop and not waking me up so I lose six hours of typing. Anyways, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, because I would never want to bore you. Heh heh. If you can't tell yet, this should have all new characters and monsters, including the monster/Mazoku Lord that ends up in every season ending. Hopefully no one is too OoC, because that would make the fic suck...so, keep on R-&-R-ing, 'kay? Also, the anime for Slayers wasn't descriptive, so don't get pissed when I misspell names. And I think the fourth wall will need a repair job after this chapter. Now then, what you have so patiently been waiting for...SHIFT, chapter four!**

Chapter 4 – Prelude

A loud bump accompanied by a squeal from Lina woke up everyone who was not awake already.

"W-What...?" Henrietta asked, rubbing her eyes tenderly, "Where are we?"

"Cadia, West plaza." the carriage driver answered as he opened the door. Lina, Filia, Gourry, Cecil and Henrietta all piled out and stretched on the cobblestone road, taking in the city around them.

"This is much bigger than Bejewld..." Cecil said, his eyes twinkling.

"This isn't hardly as large as Seyrune, so I would hope you aren't too impressed." Lina said, a nonchalant tone in her voice.

"Where's Seyrune again?" Gourry asked.

Lina let out a sigh and the group walked along. "Gourry," she explained, "Seyrune is where Amelia is from. In the North."

"Oh."

"You mean Europe?" Henrietta asked.

"No," Lina answered, "I don't think so. I haven't heard of any Yew-rope though, so I might be wrong."

Cecil and Henrietta exchanged worried glances but didn't say a thing.

"What?"

"Oh, n-nothing. Just...curious."

"You two are so weird. Oh, well. We might as well get situated for the night. Let's go find an inn somewhere. Maybe we should ask a local."

Although the city of Cadia was large, there wasn't a soul in sight. Ambient rumbling could be heard from the North, though. Following the first sign of intelligent life, that's where the group went. Every house – if you could call the enormous structures "houses" – was entirely deserted. No men, women, children, animals or anything of the sort.

As they proceeded towards the sound, it got louder and louder. Eventually, they reached the source. There was a very large ship tethered to the dock. A large, familiar ship. Virtually everyone in the city was gathering around it, trying to watch as yet more familiar figures came down from the ship.

"Oh," Lina groaned, "it's her. Again. Gourry, how many times has Amelia arrived at the most inopportune moment?"

"Mm. I don't know, how should I? Who's Amelia again?"

"Uh, Lina?" Cecil asked, "Don't you think Gourry's short term memory loss is just a little bit too severe?"

"Yes. It is my theory that he was dropped multiple times as a baby, resulting in massive brain injuries."

The group attempted to stop laughing to pay attention to the princess and a few other people, most of them probably magicians or knights.

"I don't think I could stand it if I was forced to listen to one of her speeches." Lina sighed, "I think we should get back to looking for a place to stay."

"B-but I want to k-keep watching..." Henrietta said.

"Oh, fine. But Cecil will have to stay with you, if it's okay with him." Cecil nodded, and Lina continued, "After all, we wouldn't want to lose you to the crowds. Just be sure to pack a few barf bags – her speeches are just a little too much for sane people."

"Sane people? Where? I don't think I've met any on the journey so far."

"Hen, if you weren't blind, I'd punch you right now."

The girls giggled together and the group separated yet again. Cecil and Henrietta going to watch – or in the case of a certain someone, listen to – the princess while Lina and Gourry were going to search for an inn. When the latter group had reached the West plaza again, they realized – well, the smarter half realized – that there was something missing.

"Gourry, where's Filia?"

"Who?"

"Filia! Filia, Filia, Filia! The dragon girl! The girl with the heavy mace! Her, Gourry, her!"

"Oh, yea. You mean her?" Gourry pointed to Filia, who was currently staring down the pavement.

"Filia!" Lina exclaimed, running over to her, "There you are! You had me worried for a sec. What's going on?"

"Oh." Filia turned and now that Lina could see her, she appeared to be holding a book of some sort."

"Uh, what's that?"

"This? I don't know. That's the problem. This building," she gestured to the building to her left, "appears to be a library, but there seems to be something wrong with the books."

"Well, what is it? Spit it out."

"Here. Take a look for yourself."

Filia handed the large, leather covered tome to Lina, who flipped back to the cover. The book had no noticeable title, neither on the cover, the spine or the back. Curious, Lina flipped through the rest of the book. She dropped it with a gasp.

"Lina?" Gourry asked, walking towards the girls, "What's wrong? Is it the book?" Gourry picked up said book and opened it up, "There aren't any words in it? I wonder why that is."

"Gourry, that's not quite it. All books have had something written in them, or else they would never have been published. This book is in mint condition, yet...there's no sign of anything have ever been written. No ink, no paint, no words or drawings of any kind."

"Maybe the author wanted to show off his paper collection?"

"Gourry, be serious. I think that this might be something a little bit more interesting then a case of the author being extremely disturbed. Filia, I'll help you look through the library – let's see if there are any other books like that."

Filia nodded and the girls went straight into the library, leaving a confused knight behind.

"Um...what do they want me to do, then? I guess...I'll just wait for them?"

He sat down on the ground, waiting for someone to come out of the library.

_Lina doesn't normally get upset about these kind of things. I mean...I've seen her stare down the Hellmaster without flinching. Why would she be so upset about an empty book? Maybe it's important? Oh! Maybe it'll be the starting point to another serious journey! More monsters to slay, more near-death experiences and more instances where Lina has to use the Giga Slave and nearly destroy the world! Wait, what's an instance?_

As Gourry racked his microscopic brain for a definition to the new word he had used, he saw three, no, four familiar looking faces arrive from the direction of the docks.

"Hey," Cecil exclaimed, turning to Gourry's direction, "where are the other two?"

"In this library." the knight called back. The four people walked closer to the library.

"So," Zelgadis said with a sigh, "we meet again. I guess."

"I guess. And you all met...how?"

"Well," Henrietta explained, "me and Cecil were watching P-Princess Amelia's speech from a distance, far away from the crowd, and I thought it m-might be better if we could g-get up close. So, instead of walking, C-Cecil decided to use magic to get us closer to the crowd. However, he misfired a-and we crashed into the sh-ship and it was s-so exciting and we...and we..."

As Hen took in long, gasping breaths, Cecil finished with, "and we will let you use your imagination to finish the story."

In response, Gourry booed.

"Well, it's not our fault – the writer is just too lazy to finish the story."

"What wr-writer?"

"Writer? I didn't say anything about a writer."

"Cecil, you broke the fourth wall! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

Cecil and Henrietta staring rolling on the ground in laughter, but obviously the others didn't quite get what was so funny. After a regaining of composure, the all waited for the other two to come out of the library. People were storming in from the dock and were going about their regular business. Finally, after ten more minutes, Lina and Filia returned from the library.

"Guys," Lina exclaimed, "you'll never believe what I found! Oh, hi Amelia. Hi Zel."

"Yo."

"Hello!"

"Well, anyways, every single book in the library is totally empty. No words, no pictures, nothing. I can't tell what's wrong, but it feels like magic may be to blame."

"Actually," Zelgadis said, "that's why we're here. Amelia?"

"Oh, is this the part of the episode where I finally get to speak?" Amelia excitedly asked.

"Well, I think they're 'chapters' now, but go ahead."

"All right! Er, I mean, okay. A couple months back, books in the center of the South continent started going blank. No one knew why, but it seemed to be magic of sort. It started to spread out to the shore, and now we're worried that it might spread to the North, and ultimately to the cities housing magical tomes. Fortunately, Seyrune is under a massive protection spell, but we fear that even that won't be able to hold it. So far, we don't have any suspects. Whoever is doing it seems to be a powerful sorcerer, though. Unfortunately, Lina, Mr. Zelgadis and myself were at the top of the list."

"Please, no more 'Mr.' Zelgadis."

"Whatever you say! Anyways, we had to check out all the other continents to see if there are any other powerful sorcerers because if there isn't, we're the only logical suspects. And that means-"

"No!" Lina exclaimed, "No more inspectors, no more jail, no more crimes, no more, no more, no more!"

"Okay, okay! Don't worry. This is just an idea, but maybe if we all stick together, then maybe it'll be less likely that one of us did it."

"Hm. Sounds good to me. Is anyone else that we know on the suspect list?"

"Pokota is, but I sort of doubt he did it. There are several other unidentified magicians that we only know by title. One is able to create mass illusions, another can transmogrify himself, other people and objects, the list goes on and on."

"Hm. Well, let's get back to looking for an inn. Cecil, Hen, you go that way," she gestured in the opposite direction, "and we'll go this way."

The two seemed confused about the choice of division, but they went along with it anyways. They headed off, and just when they were out of earshot, Lina asked more questions.

"Amelia...I have a feeling that I know who it is. Who's erasing the books. This person has been traveling around the South continent for a while without any goal in mind, possibly with magical abilities rivaling mine. So...check if anyone on the list specializes in sleeping spells."

"Wait," Filia said, "I think you're jumping to the wrong conclusion here, Lina. You don't really think it could be-"

"I _know_ it could be Cecil. You probably didn't see what he did in Bejewld. He killed every single monster ravaging the town with a simple command. He and Henrietta seem to be very suspicious, in my opinion if no one else's. I mean, clothes that don't look normal, spells that aren't known here, knowledge that no one else possesses...and what the hell is in Hen's suitcase?"

After a minute of silence, Amelia said, "Well, I guess I'll check. Let's see..."

As she was flipping through papers, Cecil and Henrietta dropped down from a Levitation spell.

"Well," Cecil said, "we found an inn over to the East. It's on the outskirts of town, but it's affordable and has a good position – there's three restaurants nearby and a few markets. Uh...what's wrong with you all?"

"Nothing!" they all responded in unison.

"Uh, Lina?" Amelia said, holding a piece of paper, "here's the, uh...thing you wanted."

She handed the paper to Lina and as they walked along, Lina read the profile in her head.

_This sorcerer is at an S level, on par with the greatest magicians of all time._ She smiled in satisfaction, knowing that she was one of the greatest magicians of all time. _He specializes in his own original Nightmare spells, a mixture of sleeping spells and doom curses. Although he has the available skill, it is doubtful that he is behind the erasing of Southern knowledge. The incidents began approximately half a year ago, but sources were unable to scry him until just two months ago. _

_ Two months ago? Why is that? How is it even possible? It's like...he didn't even exist until then?_

"Lina, is there something on your mind?"

"N-no! Of course not. So, if you don't mind me asking...where were you around two months ago?"

Cecil picked up his head as if he was just now listening and Henrietta let out a short gasp.

"Hm...two months? I don't quite remember. Why?"

"No reason."

_I'd better leave it at that – they might get suspicious if I keep asking._

"Oh, well!" Hen exclaimed, "We might as well g-go and look for the inn!"

And so they did. After that awkward blurb, no one talked for quite some time. Passing through the concrete jungle that was Cadia, they all felt rather small and insignificant. It was certainly bigger than all of the other cities in the South. Buildings towered above their heads, almost obscuring their vision of the sky. It was dizzying.

Finally, after stumbling around Cadia for what seemed to be an eternity and a half, the group finally found themselves at _The Big Time_, a small inn in the middle of a large economic center. It had one of everything there. They quickly walked in. It was much bigger than the _Ruby_ in more ways than one. It had three floors, each of which had an astonishing twenty rooms, albeit small ones. The rooms were only suitable for two people each.

"So," Filia said with a sigh after they decided on rooms, "I'll be alone. In my room. All alone."

"Filia," Lina muttered, "if you say that any louder, the Xellos will come to your room and do unspeakable things to you."

"I'm fine – I'd rather sleep alone, thank you very much."

After some laughs, they proceeded up the stairs and found themselves on the third floor, renting four rooms which were all right next to each other. They only came up to examine the rooms' locations, so they quickly retreated back down and out the door. They had registered rooms – now what?

"I think," Zelgadis thought aloud, "we should go and gather information from the locals for now. The local nobility would probably know the most about it."

"You're so smart, Zelgadis!" Amelia exclaimed, earning a look of embarrassment from the chimaera.

"Good idea." Cecil said thoughtfully, "But wouldn't it be best if we worked our way up to the nobility?"

"No. The way information works in the South is this: upper nobles receive it first, then their servants, then lesser nobles, then _their_ servants, then foreign nobles, foreign servants and the civilians are lucky if they hear even the slightest rumor."

"But...that's not right!"

"No, but that's how it works. Now then...I believe the big building near the docks was the city hall. Let's start there."

Zelgadis was half right. It was city hall, but it was something else too.

"Lina," Gourry asked, "what's a 'strip club?' Do we have to be naked to join?"

"I'm afraid it's a little more than that, my dearest moron."

Before she could get into detail, everyone walked in, hoping the club was on the second floor. It wasn't. Just two steps in and Cecil and Zelgadis held their sleeves up to their noses, hoping the bleeding would stop. They couldn't help but pay attention to what was happening onstage. Gourry looked dumbfounded.

"What's she doing that to a pole for?"

"Gourry, you're stupid and will never have children."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Lina dragged Gourry to the staircase, Zelgadis was weakly led by Amelia and Henrietta had to give Cecil a quick jab in the stomach to get him to pay attention to the current task. Filia, however, was the first up to the city hall part of the building. It was quiet up there. All that they could see was a bunch of empty seats and old pieces of parchment.

"There aren't any people here..." Filia said in a foreboding tone.

"Except little old me." a familiar voice rang out from behind them.

They whirled around.

"Xellos!" Lina exclaimed, clutching her dagger.

"Oh," he said softly, "I have no intentions of hurting you. I only wish to help you – no need to be so harsh."

"What do you want?"

"Like I said, to help you. I can give you the information you need. You want to know who's behind the erasing of the books, right? I know who and I know why."

"Gr...what's your price?"

"Who says I have one?"

"Oh, come on – you don't have to play your little charade with us; we've memorized every line from your act. So...what is it? The price, I mean."

"Well, I don't have any place to stay tonight. And I hear you have an open room...?"

"Oh, no." Filia said, "I don't think so. I will not have a monster sleep under the same roof as me, especially you, let alone share a room."

Lina grumbled at her, conveying the message "Take one for the team, dammit. Just relax and we can handle it."

"So it's a deal?" Xellos said, opening those menacing eyes of his.

"Sure..."

"Good. I'll tell you in the morning – I'm tired now. Good night."

Xellos teleported away, leaving everyone confused and mad. Especially Filia.

"Filia," Cecil warned, "your tail is popping out."

"Gr...but he makes me so mad! How could he just do that? And now...I have to share a room with him?"

"About that," Amelia said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, "it's not just a two person deal – this is a couple's inn."

"So?"

"Uh...you'll be sharing a..."

"A what?"

"A...bed."

"...What? I did not hear that. If I heard that, I will have to go strangle someone. Right now."

**RANDOMLY ABRUPT ENDING! Yay! And so the plot deepens. Sorry about the fourth wall – I was too lazy, so I just decided to waste space by breaking it a few times. Now I have to publish this before my laptop turns off.**


	5. Camaraderie

**(Sigh) Finally, I get to work on this story...I took too long on Rumble and FictionPress...oh well. Can't be helped. If any of you have read my profile, then you know that I am going to be on hiatus very soon. Very, very soon, as a matter of fact. I hope I can finish this before it starts...anyways, go to my profile to see the details. I don't want to stop, but I must...'tis the way of summer vacation. Anyways, time to start with Chapter 5.**

Chapter 5 – Camaraderie

Lina sipped some hot tea out of a cup, waiting for everyone else to wake up.

"I always hated this stuff." she said, putting more and more sugar into it.

A yawn from Gourry was followed by, "Oh, good morning, Lina. For some reason, I feel sore all over..."

"Yeah...about that...Amelia said something similar a long time ago. You may or may not have been victim to a night beating."

Gourry rubbed his face, but his hands flew back when he realized that his face hurt twice as bad when he did that.

_Well,_ Lina thought, _that takes care of that. I wonder how everyone else is doing._

Then came a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Lina asked.

"Room service – who the hell do you think it is?" Cecil responded angrily.

"Coming!" she cooed.

When she opened the door, there was Cecil. He didn't look quite as happy as she had expected.

"What's wrong?" she said in her baby talk voice.

"Lina...fix your dragon friend and the monster dude...now."

"What's their problem? Couldn't they sleep back-to-back like everyone else?"

"No. Go into their room...and see what the problem is..."

And she did. She walked past Cecil and over to the door that held back the worst pairing ever. All was quiet. Too quiet.

She opened the door, and there was Filia, smiling contently.

"What do ya need, Lina?"

"Uh...where's Xellos?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's in his place."

_Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no._

"And where is that, if I may ask?"

"Right there." she said, stepping back and pointing at Xellos.

He was still in bed, staring at the door, with pleading eyes. He was bound and gagged, struggling to get his hands and legs free. If that wasn't enough, he was also surrounded by a tall, electrified cage.

"What the hell, Filia?" Lina exclaimed, but she had just barely stopped herself from bursting out laughing.

"What? He's _Xellos_, Lina." Filia explained.

Lina sighed. As if it wasn't enough to have Amelia and Zel back, Filia and Xellos would be at it again. Just wonderful.

She fought off Filia while she released Xellos from whatever torture chamber Filia had set up. Finally, he was out and Lina quickly escaped the room unscathed. Everyone else was already out in the hall.

_Geez, _she thought to herself, _as if it wasn't enough to have to take care of all this crap with the books, now I have to babysit all these people._

"Good morning everyone!" Xellos said, walking out of the room, obviously unfazed by what had just happened.

"Morning..." everyone else sighed, exhausted.

"Aw, now what's wrong?" he cocked his head.

"Because you decided to stay with us," Lina said, "no one got to sleep. Which reminds me...you were supposed to provide us with information if we let you stay, right?"

"That's correct."

"Then tell us what the hell you found!"

"Fine, fine...you can be sort of pushy, you know that?" the monster cleared his throat, "Well, it's really only rumors going around, but supposedly, the one causing this phenomenon has taken up residence in the nearby Akata Desert."

"A-Akata Desert?" Henrietta asked, "Where's that?"

"Only two or three days from here on foot." Zelgadis answered.

"Why are you helping us, then?" Filia asked, "I'm sure whatever monster is doing it could be beneficial to whatever your cause is."

"No, it's not a monster." Xellos said, giving her a solemn look. "It appears to be human. And whatever human is doing this knows more than we ever could about how magic works – his existence threatens the entire monster race, along with the humans and dragons."

"W-what?"

"Believe me or not, but if we don't hunt down this sorcerer, we could all be in danger of dying. It's bent on erasing all knowledge of this world's existence. I believe that it intends to change the world in its own way."

"And you got all this information how?" Cecil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I forgot about you. That's right – you already knew about all of this, didn't you?"

Cecil seemed surprised, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, there's no need to hide it any longer. You have the information necessary to track down and eliminate this threat."

"Cecil," Lina said, turning to him, "what's Xellos talking about? Do you know something, or don't you?"

After a bit of silence, Henrietta said, "Cecil, I-I think it's time that we tell them. If we can help these people...th-then we can g-get them to help us, too."

Cecil sighed, "Fine. But this might take a while to explain. And I don't blame you if you don't believe us."

"Go on." Lina urged.

"All right. Now, this may be hard to swallow, but the reason that there isn't any records of us existing until about two months ago...is because we didn't. Why the look of surprise, Lina? We knew you were checking up on us. Anyways, we were somewhere entirely different. We were about two-thousand years into the future."

"What?" everyone exclaimed.

"That's right. We were sent here as part of an experiment to see if humans could survive being sent straight through time. But it worked a little differently than expected...it seems that time and space really are intertwined. We were sent to a parallel dimension as well. Before us, though...there were many experiments. Most people involved were fried because they weren't...special."

"Special how?" Zelgadis asked doubtfully.

"They needed a special, innate ability. The ability to control and create molecules on command. You call it magic."

"But everyone can learn magic!" Lina exclaimed.

"Not where we're from. You need a specific gene to control magic. Only two of the lab rats had that gene."

"You and Hen?"

"No. Henrietta doesn't have it. She survived because she was in the time chamber with me. The only other person was a former scientist. He was sent roughly a year before us. I believe that should line up with Amelia's notes quite nicely."

Amelia gasped and started flipping through a big bundle of papers.

"He's right." she said. "That fits in perfectly with the profiles..."

"So what do we do about it?" Lina asked.

"Well," Xellos said, "this is one case where I've been ordered to help you, so I say take full advantage."

"How?"

"By going over there and kicking ass, of course."

"Hm. I've never heard you say it quite like that but...yeah, we'll go and we'll kick ass!"

"Then we should gather up anything we need. We should also find some way to take us to the desert. If we walk for three whole days, we'll be swatted away like insects. I believe we should find some sort of carriage system which offers rides across the Akata."

"Of course," Zelgadis suggested, "it would be helpful if we sharpened any weapons we have."

"And don't forget about the food!" Gourry exclaimed.

"Of course, Gourry." Lina nodded. "Now that I think of it, this is sort of anticlimactic. Don't we normally have a lot to do before we fight the Big Bad?"

"Maybe he's actually really weak?" Amelia suggested.

"Don't get your hopes up." Zelgadis said, "He's strong enough to pose a threat to everyone."

And then everyone was quiet.

"Well, that was depressing." Xellos said, turning to the stairs.

Without anything else left, everyone followed.

Outside, the sun had been covered by gray clouds and it looked as if it could rain any time. The group decided to split into two – one would restock on supplies, the other would refurnish weaponry. Of course, because she had a dagger, Lina went with the latter.

"Hey," Lina said to Zelgadis as they exited the smith shop, "do you really think that we have a chance against this big bad freak?"

"No. Not in the least."

"B-But why not?"

"Even most monsters would have trouble going through the world, destroying knowledge undetected. Now, we're fighting a human from the future AND from a different dimension. How exactly are we supposed to put up with that?"

"I don't know. But you sort of spoiled the mood."

"Sorry? I guess?"

"But speaking of the people from an alternate world...I don't think that they told us the whole truth. I just have the feeling that they held a little back. After all, after keeping that a secret for so long, I strongly doubt that they – Cecil and Hen, I mean – told us _everything_."

"Yeah...but I guess we'll just have to trust that they know best, for now."

Suddenly, Gourry popped in, "What are you two talking about?"

This was answered by a gloved fist to the face.

"Idiot!" Lina exclaimed, "We're talking about what's freaking happening! What are you, stupid?"

"Um...I don't know."

Lina sighed and gave a shrug.

"At least he isn't a Filia." Zelgadis suggested.

"Hey!" the dragon exclaimed, "I resent that! What did _I_ do?"

"One word. _Xellos_."

"Hey, it was his fault! He...he...uh...well, he's a monster!"

"And you're a dragon."

"There is a _huge_ difference!"

"Oh really? I don't think so."

"Well, when did you get so annoying, Zelgadis? And since when did you care what I think about monsters?"

"Hmph."

Zelgadis walked faster, pulling away from the group.

Lina sighed and said, "That's kind of a sore subject, I suppose."

Soon, they met up with the rest of them. Xellos, Amelia, Henrietta and Cecil had very large amounts of food with them. Probably enough to fill multiples of Henrietta's suitcase...which no one knew the contents of, anyways.

"So," Lina asked, "what'd you get?"

"Ooh!" Amelia exclaimed, "We got vegetables, fish, herbs, meats, bread, cheese, several bottles of milk and wine, poultry, mushrooms-"

"Got it."

They pulled everything together and they set off to find a coach or something. It would have been far too painful to walk the whole way, and the desert had extremely fast winds, so riding on Filia was a big no-no. After all, the riders would be blown off and the "ridee" would crash. They soon found something that seemed very promising.

"A camel train?" Lina asked disgustedly.

"Yes." Xellos said, "Camels are very useful creatures. Much like horses, but they work in the desert."

"Um...anything I should know about these creatures?"

"Well, Cecil? Henrietta?"

"Oh!" Henrietta said excitedly, "They spit! A lot!"

"Wonderful." Lina said, shaking her head.

So they walked inside. They found an old man behind a desk, looking over some papers. He wore a turban, which wasn't too strange, considering Cadia was very popular with the Akata's nomadic people.

"Can I help you?" he asked, glancing at the large group.

"Yes. As matter of fact, I need you to loan us enough camels to take us into the Akata." Lina answered, "How much?"

"Would you like the luxury or economy cruiser?"

"Cruiser? Oh, a camel. Luxury, of course."

"Lina!" Cecil exclaimed, "This is _my_ money you're talking about!"

"But you have so much! It's just gonna go to waste in that wallet of yours!"

"Okay," the merchant said, "that will be...about seventy silvers."

Lina looked at Cecil, who promptly sighed.

"Fine," he said, "but we have to stop carelessly spending."

"Sure, sure. Just get our camels!"

Cecil picked up a bag of coins seemingly out of nowhere and paid out the money. The merchant stepped out of the building, hopefully to get some camels ready. In the meantime, the rest of them waited.

"So, Hen." Lina began to ask, "Do camels ride well?"

"Not really. It's like riding a really slow horse that's been drunk for months."

"Oh. That's quite...descriptive."

"W-well...I sort of spent a lot of t-time with animals...at the lab where we were b-before we were sent here."

"That sounds like fun."

"I didn't finish the sentence." Henrietta's voice started dripping anger, "It's only because they treated us like animals. We were just...experiments. They took everything from us...my vision...Cecil's family..."

"What?"

Neither Henrietta or Cecil answered.

Finally, Cecil spoke, "It's true. But it's...a sore subject. I'd rather not talk about those...bastards."

"Okay. That's all right."

Suddenly, the merchant popped back in.

"Hello, we have your camels out here."

Single file, the group came out and saw the camel train. There were ten camels, one in front with a guard mounted, same with the back. The other eight were for the group. The camels were adorned with very soft looking quilts and had large containers of water on either side.

"Well." Lina said, proud, "I think that you won't regret this, Cessy. Now, let's get on."

And everyone mounted a camel. After a minute or two, they finally headed out for the Akata.

END~

**Oh my gosh sorry! I had to make this chapter short because I must inform you of this – I will be on hiatus until about five weeks from now. I'll still work on this story, but I won't be able to post because I will have no internet. Stupid vacation. Oh well, at least I'll have a long time to work on these! Plus, time seems to move really slowly when we vacation in the mountains...anyways, see ya soon!**


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